


How Gareth Came to Somewhat Tolorate the Idea of Planned Parenthood: The Story of Charlotte Healy-Ritter

by elizabethvaughan



Series: Braindead Alternate Universe (From Season Two on) [4]
Category: BrainDead (TV)
Genre: Also please know this "series" we keep posting has no official order yet, F/M, Planned Parenthood, Pregnancy, Washington D.C.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-18
Updated: 2016-11-18
Packaged: 2018-08-31 17:08:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8586802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elizabethvaughan/pseuds/elizabethvaughan
Summary: It takes more than persuasion to change Gareth's mind on the importance of Planned Parenthood.





	

January 18th, 2017

It was 7:05 in the morning, and Gareth awoke to the sensation of being pummeled. Not in the nice, gentle way of someone teasing you out of bed, or the light-but-slightly weird sensation of being walked on by the family cat, but being honest-to-god pummeled in the stomach. After a second of shock, he realized the sensation was due to the fact that laurel had been sleeping on top of him and was now suddenly attempting to escape the bed.

Gareth caught her wrist just as she was about to make her final leaping step away from the bed. “Where are you going?” he mumbled, still trying to wrap his brain around the fact that Laurel, yes, Laurel, was in a hurry before eight in the morning. 

She huffed and paused for a moment. “I’m going to be late for my appointment at nine. Luke’s given me permission to come in late, but he hinted that he may not be able to let me off this early in the future”

“He could just be messing with you, you know” Gareth reminded her. He may not know Luke Healy as well as some, but he sure did know how much he cares about Laurel. 

“I do know, and that’s the beauty of my brother. Last time I called his bluff he kept his word and I had to use the community printer for a week. It was like doing the walk of shame every time I printed so much as a damn survey” 

“Where is this appointment anyway?” Gareth questioned. Their usual clinic was less than eight blocks away, so he guessed that wasn’t where she was going if she was in such a hurry.

She managed to free her hand and began prowling the room for her clothing. “The Planned Parenthood on 7th street”

“Wait, WHAT?!?!” Now fully awake, he sat up on the bed in alarm.

Laurel paused for a moment and glanced at him, quirking her head as she considered his reaction. “Wha….? OH!” She laughed for a second, then continued.

“No, no no no, it’s not like that. Relax. It’s for a pap smear. I swear. For some ungodly reason our usual place has decided they hate women and won’t do it” By this point she frantically grabbed clothes off the chair by the bed and began throwing them on her body with as much speed as she could muster, which, if he was being honest, is actually an impressive amount considering her usual lack of momentum in the morning.

“Are you sure they don’t offer it down the street? Why do you have to go there?” He finally dragged himself away from the bed and attempted to follow her on her ongoing mission through the apartment, which he quickly discovered is not an easy feat. He finally settled against the counter in time to catch her reply.

“Gareth, be honest. Do you even know what a pap smear is?” She was still rushing about trying to feed herself, but with each response she become more invested in the conversation, which increasingly did not bode well for him. Still, he persevered.

“That’s beside the point. Laurel, it’s PLANNED PARENTHOOD. You can’t just go to Planned Parenthood. They do….. stuff there”

Her voice was calm and measured, but her could tell her anger was bubbling just below the surface. “What do they do there?”

“You know…. They do bad stuff”

“Wait, do you even know what they do at Planned Parenthood?” At Gareth’s momentary silence, she continued “Oh my FUCKING god you are such a Republican”

He winced. He was intensely used to her attacks, but whenever she took a jab at his political party, it particularly stung. “Laurel, you know what I mean. I just don’t want you going there”

“You don’t want me going there?! What is this, the fifties? I am not yours to control!”

“I’m not trying to CONTROL you, Laurel. I just wonder about some of the things they do there and worry about you going”

Now she completely lost it in typical Laurel fashion. “Yes, they provide low-or-no-cost care for millions of people, MEN included, including screening for cancer, providing counseling, doing basic physicals, offering prenatal care for women, and even performing check-ups for children. Plus, as Republicans always fail to acknowledge, only a small handful of Planned Parenthoods even offer abortion services, and yes, I do expect you, a grown man, to be comfortable talking about the subject of abortion. I’m going to my appointment now. Good-bye Gareth” She snatched her bag off the hall table, turned on her heel, and slammed the apartment door. 

Gareth simply sighed and stared at the door, still echoing from her thunderous departure. At this point, he had officially lost and there was nothing else he could do besides worry about what she was getting herself into and get dressed. Figuring that was about as good a plan as any, he trudged towards the bedroom and began pulling clothes from the closet.

\---

Just after he reached his desk at half past eight, he heard the familiar buzz of his phone vibrating on wood. Glancing over at the screen, he immediately noted that it’s from Laurel and opened the attachment. It was a close-up of Laurel’s hand making a thumbs-up gesture in front of what must be the sign on the building where Planned Parenthood was located. Underneath, he read the caption:

LAUREL: made it in one piece ;)

He immediately shot back his response: 

GARETH: They haven’t tried to convert you yet?

GARETH: Kidding!

LAUREL: ha ha. Isn’t that YOUR religion?

GARETH: That’s Jehovah’s Witness. I’m Catholic.

LAUREL: same difference

LAUREL: (picture of what appeared to be a lobby. There were comfortable-looking benches along one wall, and a large curving front desk in the opposite corner)

LAUREL: (picture of a slightly skeptical-looking woman waving hesitantly at the camera from behind the desk) 

LAUREL: this is Cheryl. She works at the desk. Cheryl says hi

LAUREL: okay all checked in. Ready to go back. Stay tuned for more exciting developments!

LAUREL: the nurse is getting my history. Her name is Natalie. How many times have we had sex in the last 30 dasy?

LAUREL: *days

GARETH: Wait, they ask you that?

GARETH: Ummm

LAUREL: i told her about 34. Hope it’s close enough

LAUREL: natalie thought that was a good enough answer

GARETH: Glad to know our relationship needed Natalie’s input.

LAUREL: about to start my smear now! Did you know they use a clamp to hold open your cervix?? It looks like a torture device but Natalie assures me it is a friend of my vagina

LAUREL: (picture that she had apparently taken lying down on her back with her legs spread apart. Barely visible was a nurse, seemingly with her hands between her legs)

GARETH: Interesting position.

LAUREL: you know you want it

LAUREL: all done! Look at my sexy cervical offerings!

LAUREL: (picture of what appeared to be a glass slide with a clear liquid smeared on it)

GARETH: WTF IS THAT

LAUREL: the world’s sexiest pap smear obviously

GARETH: LAUREL YOU MADE ME DROP MY PHONE

LAUREL: ITS FUCKING LIQUID FROM MY VAGINA YOU SEE IT ALL THE TIME

LAUREL: WHY DOES IT SUDDENLY LOSE ITS APPEAL OUTSIDE OF MY BODY

GARETH: I did not expect that.

LAUREL: you do realize you sound like someone who was born in a cornfield in the middle of the Bible Belt right??

LAUREL: oh wait

LAUREL: i forgot

LAUREL: you were

GARETH: Shut up.

LAUREL: all done! No helpless infants were harmed on today’s excursion

LAUREL: (picture of the clinic lobby, this time from a different angle)

LAUREL: there’s Cheryl. She says to have a good day and tell your husband to drop by sometime

LAUREL: (picture of the same women, smiling this time and waving)

GARETH: And how often do women have to get those pap smears??

LAUREL: every three years usually

GARETH: So I have some time before I have to witness this again?

LAUREL: yes but next time I need birth control I am definitely coming here

LAUREL: (selfie in front of building. She’s making a tough face and making another thumbs-up with her free hand. The pink lettering is visible behind her)

GARETH: I’ll try to contain my excitement.

LAUREL: don’t bother. I’ll be at work in less than an hour

GARETH: Looking forward to it.

LAUREL: love you

GARETH: Love you too. 

This became a ritual: every few months, Laurel would stop by the Planned Parenthood, and every time, he would receive a flood of texts, which were always a slurry of photos, descriptions, and comments all designed to both ease his fears and mildly infuriate him. He had to hand it to her, she had gotten the entire staff of the location in on her fun, and almost every time she managed to get a group shot with the majority of the staff. They would all be grinning, laughing, pointing at Laurel or the sign, and generally having a blast. This would usually continue for an hour as Gareth worked, and usually culminated in him locking his phone in a desk drawer. Not only did this a) muffle the repeated buzzing of her texts, but also b) prevented one of his colleagues from seeing the content. Gareth wasn’t big on betting, but he’d put down $500 on him getting fired if those texts were ever to be leaked. He had halfheartedly expressed this concern to laurel, but he knew her well enough that he was paying for the crime he committed, and she was not likely to stop. Thus, his top right desk drawer hosted his phone a lot.

\---

December 8th, 2017

It was a depressingly warm early-December day when the familiar barrage of texts began. Her early departure this morning combined with the fact that it had been a few months since her last trip to pick up birth control led him to believe she was making one of her frequent trips to Planned Parenthood. Sure enough, one glance at the phone confirmed his suspicions. Shaking his head and grinning just slightly, He resolved to ignore them for as long as possible just to piss her off. However, after a few minutes, his determination began to wane after an accidental glance at his phone revealed an unusual amount of content. Internally kicking himself for being too weak to resist her taunting, he opened the conversation and began scrolling through what she had sent him.

LAUREL: (familiar picture of the Planned Parenthood sign, this time against the bleak grey sky. Her hand is visible pointing to the pink letters)

LAUREL: (picture of clinic lobby. There is a Christmas tree in on corner by the bench and multicolored lights hung on the front desk)

LAUREL: (picture of her and Cheryl hugging with big grins on their faces in front of the desk, apparently taken by someone else in the clinic)

LAUREL: (picture of her knees as she’s sitting on the bench. The edge of her black skirt and her dark grey tights are visible)

At this point, Gareth realized what was so unusual about this trip’s documentation. While she usually went to great pains to caption everything and add her own snarky commentary, this time she offered no input of her own, only photos. Puzzled, Gareth continued down the rapidly lengthening line.

LAUREL: (picture of an unfamiliar exam room door, probably taken from some internal hallway)

LAUREL: (picture of the interior of the room, showing an exam table, a small swivel chair, and what appeared to be a computer screen and wheeled cart of some sort. There is an unfamiliar nurse standing with her back to the camera preoccupied with something on the cart)

LAUREL: (picture of herself, taken laying on the table. She’s visible from her chest down)

A few minutes pass without another photo. Now Gareth felt alarm nagging at his chest. He’d gotten used to her trips, but he’d never seen her in this room or doing any of this stuff before. The unfamiliarity of it was unsettling, and the fact that she didn’t mention any of this to him only increased the level of panic he was feeling. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he typed out a message in the hopes that she would at least inform him that she was okay.

GARETH: Hey, everything okay? I haven’t seen this before.

A few agonizing minutes later, and her response arrives.

LAUREL: (picture of the nurse in the chair next to the table where Laurel is still apparently laying, judging by the view of the wall and ceiling behind the nurse. The lights in the room are now dimmed)

LAUREL: (picture of herself, taken from chest down again. This time, her sweater is off and her blouse is rolled up to her chest. Her skirt has also been lowered, exposing most of her midsection)

GARETH: Please Laurel tell me what’s going on I’m begging you

GARETH: Laurel? Please?

LAUREL: (picture of herself almost the same as before. Now, the nurse’s hand is visible, holding some kind of instrument over her exposed stomach)

Gareth lost his resolve and immediately panicked. Whatever this was, it was DEFINITELY not something he has seen before and her unwillingness to respond further sent him into a tailspin. Why wouldn’t she just explain what she was doing? She’d always been open about what she’s had done in the past, but that was the thing with Laurel: never assume you could predict her next move. Though he hoped she would never do anything deliberately cruel or send him pictures or information she knew would seriously upset him, this was pushing it. Fumbling to regain control of his hands, he exited the thread and called her, hoping she might be fooled into picking it up.

LAUREL: “Hi, you’ve reached Laurel Healy. I can’t come to the phone right now, so leave your name and a message and I’ll get right back to you”

He swore upon immediately reaching her voicemail, but he should have guessed she’d have her phone turned off. Pausing, he opted to leave her a brief message, though he knew the chance of her listening to it in the near future were slim to none.

GARETH: “Hi Laurel, I’m seeing all your pictures. Please just answer your phone just so I know you’re not being held hostage”

Her response came a few minutes later as still another text message: 

LAUREL: (picture of the nurse, still taken from the same view lying down on the table. The nurse is pointing at something on the computer screen, which appears to be connected to a long cord running out of the frame. The screen is all black and grey and blurry and slightly out of focus)

GARETH: Okay Laurel that’s it I’m coming over there

Grabbing his jacket and phone, he hurried out of the office. Unfortunately, Red chose just this moment to attempt to enter the office. Colliding, the two men rebounded off each other and had to regain their footing. As Gareth attempted to hurry away, Red laid a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, Gareth, buddy. What’s the big rush?” He asked. Attempting to brush him off, Gareth only muttered “I have to go, something wrong”

“With Lana?”

“It’s LAUREL, and yes. I have to go”

“What, is she in trouble or something? Those liberals are always getting themselves in trouble”

Gareth shook his head, taken aback. “No, she’s…I dunno, why do you say that?”

“You just have that panicked look on your face that means she did something that upset you. Go, see what’s wrong. And don’t worry about that three page report due tomorrow. I’m sure you’ll figure something out”

Ignoring his boss’s sarcastic tone but grateful for his current level of brain function at the moment, Gareth attempted to regain his momentum. “Thanks, Senator”

“Anytime”

Shaking his head, Gareth brushed off his comment resumed his quest for the door. Hurrying through the halls, he managed to nearly run into several people and sideswiped a woman so that she dropper the folders she was carrying. Ignoring the curse words spat at his back, he plowed on in a single-minded determination to intercept whatever Laurel was doing.

By this point he had made it out of the building and was paused on the sidewalk. He didn’t even know the address of where she was, let alone how to get there. All he knew was that is was located somewhere on 7th street. Hurrying for Louisiana Avenue, he scoured the street for a cab, and once finding one, tried to relay this information to the driver. “The Planned Parenthood on 7th street?” he tried. The driver gave him a skeptical look but started down the road anyway. 

The buzzing of his phone yanked him out of his haze and made him look down. It was still clutched in his hand, and he had somehow managed to ignore the flood of messages that had come through. Ignoring the one from Red about a Buzzfeed article he should read on the cultural significance of the pumpkin spice latte, he began scrolling through Laurel’s most recent attachments.

LAUREL: (picture of the same black-and-grey screen, this time up closer and occupying the entire photo)

LAUREL: (picture almost identical to the one above it, now with a woman’s hand pointing to a solid black blob within the grey)

LAUREL: (picture of what appeared to be the ceiling)

LAUREL: (picture of her lap, taken from a sitting position. Her clothes were back on and her stomach and the top of her thighs were showing)

LAUREL: (picture of her hand, holding what looked like two polaroids of the grey-and-black screen)

LAUREL: (picture of Cheryl behind the desk holding the polaroids and grinning with her hand on her chest. Her eyes appear slightly teary)

LAUREL: (another picture of Laurel and Cheryl hugging)

LAUREL: (picture of herself sitting on the bench, taken by someone else. She’s smiling and waving at the camera)

By this point they had reached their destination. Before the driver could even get a word out, Gareth was shoving a handful of bills at him and climbing out of the car. As the taxi sped away, he was left to ponder the situation. Should he call her and tell her he was outside? Did he start yelling for her from his spot on the sidewalk? Or did he barge right through the doors and demand to know where she was? It didn’t take him more than a moment’s contemplation to opt for the latter of the three. Speeding towards the front of the building, he swung the door open and stepped inside.

He wasn’t sure what he was expecting when he entered the lobby. He had seen pictures plenty of times before, and knew pretty well what it looked like, but a small part of him was still taken aback by how professional and friendly it looked. Sweeping the room, he quickly established that it was empty. Even the desk he instantly recognized as the one where Cheryl sat was unoccupied. Once again, panic crashed over him like a wave. Forgetting all common sense, he shouted “Laurel???” to the quiet building. After receiving no response, he beelined for the hallway nearest to the desk and headed down it.

“Laurel? Laurel? LAUREL! Please answer me! Laurel? LAAAAUUUU-RRRRREEEELLLLL!!!”  
At this, he heard what could only be described as a faint giggling coming from farther down the hallway. Zeroing in on his target, he hurried through the open door and came upon what appeared to be an empty exam room of some sorts. Frustrated, Gareth was about to yell for her again when he heard a noise coming from what sounded like directly behind him. Spinning around, he faced a narrow door and yanked it open. 

He nearly leaped backwards as Laurel tripped forward and almost fell on top of him. She was laughing so hard she was doubled over, and it took a good thirty seconds before she could stand upright. Gareth just stared at her in shock. Once he had calmed down, he tried to get down to the bottom of why exactly she was hiding in the utility closet of a health center.

“Are you okay? What on earth were you doing?”

She kept giggling. “You were FREAKING out! Oh my god, I wish I could have seen your face!”

“Did you close the place down just to scare me?” he asked, equally dumfounded and annoyed.

“No, but it was empty and Cheryl came up with the idea to scare you. I agreed because the thought of you storming around through a women’s health center looking for me was just too good to pass up”

“Why did you do it?

She suddenly got a bit more serious. “Did you not get any of the eight thousand pictures I sent?”

He was still confused. “I did get them, but why does it matter? You always send pictures to annoy me whenever you come here. What’s so special about these?”

“You. Are. Such. An. Idiot. Here” She said as she pulled the same two grey-and-black pictures out of her pocket and handed them to him.

He took them from her hand and looked them over more closely. He now noticed an unfamiliar doctor’s name in one corner and what he assumed was medical jargon in another, but other than that, they looked the same as they had in the photos she had texted him. Finally admitting defeat, he looked up at her in confusion. “Okay Laurel, I give up. What is this?”

“It’s a sonogram, you dummy. I’m pregnant”

Gareth suddenly felt lightheaded. He wanted to sit down, or maybe start shaking her to demand that she tell the truth. Or quite possibly walk out of the room and vomit. Instead, he opted to stare at her and stammer out “Laurel, I…I thought we were going to talk about this!”

She was grinning widely at his reaction and seemed very close to laughing again. Clearly she was enjoying this. “Well, now would be a great time to talk about it, don’t you think?” 

“LAUrel! I’m being serious here!”

“So am I Gareth. I promised you I would tell you if something happened. And something did happen. And I did tell you. Now, granted, I MAYBE had a little more fun with it than I should have, but I did tell you. So, here we are. What do you think?”

“I think I’m going to pass out”

“Good god. Here” She said as she pulled him into a hug. He leaned into her and just tried to steady himself against her body, but he couldn’t stop the tears from falling into her hair. To her credit, she managed to withhold commenting about it. For a good minute, neither of them moved or even spoke. They just stood rooted to the spot in silence, Laurel letting Gareth soak her hair. After a while, Gareth finally managed to speak again. 

Freeing one of his hands, he wiped his eyes. “You’re not just messing with me, are you?”

“I promise I’m not messing with you. I swear I’m not that mean, Gareth”

“So you’re really pregnant?”

Even though her face was resting on his shoulder, he could tell she was rolling her eyes at him. “Yes Gareth”

“And you’re okay with this?” He sniffed, once again wiping the tears away. 

She pulled away so that she could look at him face-to-face.

“As okay as I’ll ever be, I think. I still want to talk about how it’s all going to work out with our careers and responsibilities, but I’m okay with it if you are”

“Are you kidding Laurel? Of course I’m okay with it! I just didn’t expect this right now, that’s all. And it didn’t help that you practically gave me a heart attack trying to find you!” he pointed out.

She laughed again. “Okay, okay, fine. I’ll admit that part was unnecessary. Happy now?”

To keep himself from losing it all over again, he hugged her closer. “Laurel, this is the happiest day of my life. I am so excited to start a family with you”

She groaned into his chest. “Please, let’s just go home before you say something else nauseatingly cheesy. I managed to convince Luke that I needed to take a sick day, but who knows the next time that will work, so let’s enjoy it while we can” She broke their embrace and grabbed his hand, half-leading, half-dragging him out of the exam room. As they exited into the hallway, he noticed that there were employees everywhere, all of whom seemed to be laughing, high-fiving each other, and hugging Laurel. Gareth was shocked that they had all helped her out and stayed quiet that whole time. Turning to her, he asked “do you know all of these people?”

“Most of them. I’ve gotten to know people from all the times I’ve come here”

“Who is that woman who I always see pictures of? Cheryl?”

“I told you, she works at the front desk. She’s my friend. I’ve talked with her a lot since we met last January” She glanced around, then continued. “Careful, she’s going to try and hug you. I’m just letting you know she can be very aggressive with her hugs” Almost as soon as she spoke, a woman barreled up to him and nearly crushed him in one of the biggest hugs he had ever received. Even though she seemed to be a full foot shorter than him, she had him effectively immobilized. He stood there awkwardly as she kept hugging him and started talking.

“You must be Gareth, Laurel’s husband! We’re so glad to finally meet you! We love Laurel, you know, she’s told us all about you! I take it she’s already told you the news?”

Gareth shot a look at Laurel, and she just helplessly shrugged with a “Sorry, she’s very persuasive” expression on her face.

“Yes, she did”

“Well then, congratulations! I won’t hold you up. Go home, both of you. And you” She said, pointing at Laurel “should call me if you need anything, okay? I look forward to seeing you again soon” she gave Laurel a pointed look, and Laurel just laughed and bent down to hug her. “I’ll be back. Thank you Cheryl”

“Good!” the woman exclaimed, practically shoving them out the door and onto the sidewalk. She watched them from the entrance. “Take care, both of you! And congratulations!”

Once they were alone on the street, Gareth turned to Laurel. “Are you sure this wasn’t an elaborate ploy to get me to change my mind on funding for Planned Parenthood?”

She hit him on the arm. “It wasn’t, I swear. Though if it were to change your mind about the necessity of women’s healthcare and the quality service that Planned Parenthood provides, I certainly wouldn’t mind one bit”

He grinned at her. “I think my hand might just slip next time we go over cutting funding. And if it happens to slip in their favor, well, I guess that wouldn’t be so bad”

Now it was her turn to grin at him. “Who ever thought my Republican husband would ever change his mind on funding for Planned Parenthood?”

He reached for her and pulled her close to him. “Laurel, if you can be big enough to change your mind on having kids, I’m pretty sure I can be big enough to change my mind on funding for women’s healthcare. Flexibility has no political alliances”

She snorted. “Spoken like a true liberal”

**Author's Note:**

> FINALLY DONE. This was actually the first work we started working on together, and it's been in progress since September! Busy schedules, moving, wrecked cars, piles of homework, and a bad case of writer's block all delayed this from being finished, but now it lives. Originally this and the work we posted about them talking about having kids were all rolled into one, but it got to long and complicated so I (Winona) separated them out and gave each one more depth and attention. Now, the other one reads like a direct prequel. Whew. Okay. On to the next project.
> 
> ~Winona


End file.
